“Wait here a moment,” said Glan, “and I’ll go and see. Don’t follow me or we shall lose each other in the crowd. I won’t be long.”
And leaving the children and Aunt Janet standing outside a quaint little tea-shop, he dashed forward and was quickly lost to sight in the surging mass of people that were rushing onward to the market cross. Everyone was simmering with excitement, and Jack and Molly had great difficulty in obeying Glan’s instructions to wait outside for him there, especially whenever a shout or groan of sympathy or indignation rose above the murmuring of the crowd, and told them that something unusual was taking place.
But they waited, and in a few minutes they saw Glan making his way back through the outskirts of the crowd. He hurried toward them, his face unusually grave.
“Come along,” he said, taking each of the children by an arm and hastening them away before they could ask any questions; and he signed to Aunt Janet, who followed behind them as quickly as possible. “Don’t look back. It’s no use. We can’t do anything to help. It’s one of the Pumpkin’s victims, some poor fellow caught by him outside the City walls.”
“What has he done to him?” Jack managed to gasp out.
“Made both his arms disappear, and covered his face with a horrible grey stain. The man looks awful. I’m glad you didn’t see him—we can do nothing to help ... except one thing,” said Glan.
“The Black Leaf?” asked Molly.
CHAPTER IX
Planning the Search
They turned out of the square into a wide avenue, bordered on each side with beautiful trees. At the end of this avenue stood the Palace gates, and behind these, glimpses could be caught of the Palace itself, gleaming white through the trees and bushes which surrounded it and almost hid it from sight of the gates; the only parts which were entirely visible were its four white towers which rose high above the tree tops. Having ascended the flight of wide, marble steps before the gates, the four visitors passed the sentry—who seemed to know Glan quite well—and made their way through the grounds to the main entrance of the Palace.